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Day #26: Ginger Snaps (2000)

Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins) are a couple of death-obsessed teens. When Ginger is bitten by a werewolf, it’s up to Brigitte to try and save her sister before she changes for good – or eats the neighbourhood.

My take:

Before the opening scene of this movie was even done, I was already thinking, “Wow, I can’t see this movie being made today.” There’s just something about teenagers talking about how to kill themselves that I don’t think would make it past the development stages, y’know?

Ginger Snaps seems to be all about pushing the limits of acceptability, though. For example, one of its main themes is about the parallels between puberty and turning into a werewolf, which doesn’t exactly paint womahood in the best light. But it’s this cynical, irreverent take on being a teenager living in the suburbs that makes Ginger Snaps such a good movie.

Katharine Isabelle does a great job of showing her character’s transition from moody teenager into a raging beast, while Emily Perkins is possibly the most socially awkward teenager in existence. And Mimi Rogers is hilarious as the oblivious suburban mother.

I did find myself thinking that the story got a bit messy about 2/3 of the way through, with things happening in a way that didn’t exactly make sense; but it tightened up enough by the final scenes that I could forgive it some sloppiness.

Overall, Ginger Snaps is a fun, sarcastic look at life as a teenager, mixed in with a decent werewolf story. I can see why it’s become a go-to movie for those talking about the genre.